Dubai is one of the most vibrant and influential cities in the world. With world-class infrastructure, Dubai has become one of the most attractive destinations for tourism and trade from major investors. If you are interested in starting a real estate business, there is unlimited potential in what the city offers.

Real estate is one of the most thriving businesses in Dubai, with Dubai having the tallest skyscrapers in the Gulf. Dubai is one of the highest-yielding real estate markets in the whole world. It stands ahead of major markets like New York and London. Dubai’s real estate business recorded AED 300 billion transactions in 2021, one of the best years in the past decade.

So how do you set up a real estate business in Dubai to cash in on the profits? Here are the steps that you have to follow:

Business activity

The first and foremost task of real estate company formation process is choosing the right activity. There are several Government approved real estate activities to be picked, some of them are:

  • Real Estate Buying and Selling brokerage
  • Buying & selling of real estate
  • Leasing & Management of other people’s property
  • Real Estate development

Choosing the right business activity is crucial for a startup, as the entire Government process and the costing depends in it. Appointing a business consultants  for your company formation in Dubai can ease that job for you.

Decide The Company’s Location

Before initiating the company formation process, you must choose a suitable location for your business. You can choose to have it in the Mainland or the Free zone.

Based on the recent updates the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), setting up your business in both, the free zone and mainland allows you to own your business 100% unlike the former system where you used to own 49% of your business while the other 51% capital share of company belonged to an Emirates national holder in mainland. However both of these jurisdictions come with their advantages, requirements, features, and limitations. If you want guidance in choosing the right jurisdiction, you can seek assistance of our business consultants in Dubai to help you make the right decision.

Decide On the Company’s Structure

There are different types of company structures you can choose from in Dubai. They include:

  • Sole Proprietorship
  • Civil works company
  • Limited Liability Company
  • Public shareholding
  • Private shareholding

Register a Trade Name and Initial approval

Registering your business in every country. Once you decide on the type of business, you will need to register the name along with all the relevant documents to the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) formerly known as Department of Economic Development- Dubai (DED) or the relevant Free zone authority.  After the registration of trade name, the documentation of company owners and the business activity details are supplied to the Government in order to acquire an initial approval certificate.

Memorandum of Association (MOA)

Upon acquiring the initial approval, the next step of your real estate company formation is the Memorandum of Association (MOA) which is the legal contract between the shareholders of the license, which has to be signed by the shareholders in front of the representative of the Notary public for Dubai mainland.

Issuing Trade License

Resubmit the trade name, initial approval, office contract and other requirements for the final approval. Upon paying the license fee, the UAE government will give you your trade license.

Get a Real Estate License

It is important to note that the Real estate business can be conducted after acquiring the NOC from the RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) in Dubai, you will have to pass through professional training to obtain a certificate. After you pass the training, you will get a permit from RERA to practice real estate activities in Dubai.

You must take the Real Estate Certified Practitioner training course if you have a college degree or have graduated. If you do not have a degree, you must register for a Real Estate Executive Diploma Program. For more information on the program, you can visit the RERA website.

Hire Business Consultants

As an entrepreneur, you will have to ensure that you manage all your business tasks like a pro. However, sometimes you can be knee-deep in back office work which hinders you to run your business efficiently. Hiring a business consultant to help you register your real estate business in Dubai will save you a lot of time and energy that you would instead use in other areas of the business.

At ICONS Business Setup, we will handle all your real estate business registration seamlessly. We will also offer advice on the best areas to set up your business based on the benefits and the nature of your business. We will also help you keep up to date with all the government policy updates to ensure that your business complies with the regulations in Dubai at all times.

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